What they did to you hurt you to the core! It temporarily broke your spirit. It made your very soul ache. They may have totally disregarded your feelings; put you to open shame; caused you to lose money and friendships you may never get back, or betrayed you in a way that you initially felt was beyond forgiveness.

But, you remembered two important things…

One, that God has commanded and demanded that we forgive everyone just as He forgives us, over and over again…

Ephesians 4:32  (NKJV)

³² And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Matthew 18:21-22  (NKJV)

²¹ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Two, the relationship is important to you, and you don’t want it to end in spite of what they did…

You didn’t want the marriage, relationship or friendship to end. So, in your heart was the desire to forgive…and you forgave them.

Yes, in your heart you forgave them and do everything in your power to move on beyond what happened. But, as much as you try to forgive and forget…things happen to remind you.

A song…

A scent…

A place…

A phrase…

A thought…

They may have brought up something again that you did, and it quickly makes you think about what they did to you.

There will always be triggers that will bring what they did back to your mind, and the thought will sometimes hurt you again, make you cry, make you angry, make you feel weak…and you will have to silently forgive them over and over again.

Manage your triggers, and remember this…

When the God encourages us to forget the past through the Apostle Paul, it doesn’t mean you will never remember what happened, but the frame of mind you were in.

Philippians 3:13  (NKJV)

¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have ^[a]apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

Much like when you no longer love romantically an ex from years ago, you remember the relationship, but can’t remember the affection you had for them.

So, don’t feel bad if you can’t completely get it out of your mind. Just continue to not let the thought affect your relationship with them once you’ve forgiven them.

Remember that forgiveness is a process that continues throughout the life of any relationship.

ADMITTING TO YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE STILL BITTER, BUT BETTER…

JUST BECAUSE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WILL NEVER BE THE SAME, DOESN’T MEAN IT CAN’T BE BETTER…

WHAT IF GOD FORGAVE YOU, BUT PARTED WAYS WITH YOU…

YES, EVEN GOD SOMETIMES BROUGHT UP THE PAST AFTER HE FORGAVE…

HOW TO FORGET A PAST THAT YOU CAN’T FORGET…

BE BLESSTIFIED!